BACKGROUND: Teenage pregnancies are a global concern. Malawi is one of the countries with the highest teenage pregnancy rates despite government efforts to reverse the situation and yet studies on determinants of teenage pregnancy are rare with some factors remaining unexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to identify factors associated with teenage pregnancies in Malawi.
METHODS: This was a community-based case-control study that used secondary data from the 2015-16 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey from all 28 districts of Malawi. The study population comprised women aged 20-24 who participated in the survey. The study ran from September 2021 to October 2022 and used a sample size of 3,435 participants who were all women aged 20-24 in the dataset who met the inclusion criteria. Data were analysed using Stata 16 software. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine factors. Variables with a P value of < 0.1 in the univariable analysis were included in the multivariable analyses, where statistical significance was obtained at a P value < 0. 05.
RESULTS: Data on 3435 participants were analysed. In multivariable analyses: no teenage marriage (AOR 0.13); secondary education (AOR 0.26); higher education (AOR 0.39); richest category of wealth index (AOR 0.51), use of contraception (AOR 3.08), domestic violence by father or mother (AOR 0.37) were found to be significant factors.
CONCLUSIONS: This study identified determinants of teenage pregnancy. The government has to sustain and expand initiatives that increase protection from teenage pregnancy, reinforce the implementation of amended marriage legislation, introduce policies to improve the socioeconomic status of vulnerable girls and increase contraceptive use among adolescent girls before their first pregnancy. Further research is also recommended to resolve inconclusive results.

Teenage pregnancy is a significant concern for society, and the effect on education is immense. In South Africa, policies were thus introduced allowing pregnant school-going children to continue attending class until the baby\'s birth. However, research on adolescent pregnancy generally ignores teenage fathers and focuses mostly on teenage mothers. Parents of teenage girls are also encouraged to offer support to their children, but the same cannot be said about adolescent fathers. They confront numerous barriers in fulfilling their parenting roles. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to explore adolescent fathers\' dilemmas, challenges, and opportunities. Interviews were conducted to collect data from 5 adolescent fathers in 1 township in South Africa. Findings indicate that adolescent fathers face various challenges and experience fatherhood differently. The phenomenon\'s effects on education are immense and unavoidable, yet some opportunities accompany the fathering role. Adolescent fathers are exposed to several complex situations that impact their lives. To understand these, further research studies into adolescent fatherhood still need to be conducted, and reproductive health education efforts should equally be directed toward empowering boys to the same extent as girls.

Teenage pregnancy and the prevalence of HIV among school girls are very high in South Africa, despite the introduction of sexuality education in schools since 2002. A qualitative approach of inquiry was used to investigate challenges faced by schools offering sexuality education in Mahikeng, South Africa. Four school principals, seven teachers and 39 learners were interviewed. The curriculum on sexuality education indicates that sexual matters are introduced to learners only when they reach Grade 8, whereas pregnancy is already common among girls as early as Grade 3. Participants from all groups represented in the study revealed that Life Orientation was not taken seriously in schools compared to other subjects. Although learners are very much interested in the subject matter, there were no qualified teachers and the content of the curriculum is very shallow. In addition, schools paid very little attention to this subject since it is not considered for admission into tertiary institutions. There is need, therefore, for the South African government to revise the curriculum content and presentation of Life Orientation to ensure the improvement of sexuality education in schools. The appropriate age-specific topics on sexual matters for learners should also be revised and the qualification of teachers considered.

BACKGROUND: Teenage pregnancy is a serious public health and social problem, with 95% occurring in developing countries. The aim of the study was to investigate the behavioural, familial and social factors associated with teenage pregnancy among girls aged 13-19 years in Lira District, Uganda.
METHODS: Primary data from a case-control study of teenage girls (aged 13-19 years) in Lira District, Uganda was analysed. A Structured questionnaire was administered using face-to-face interviews to collect data on 495 participants, identified through simple random sampling from 32 villages in two counties in Lira District. Data analyses were done using SPSS Statistics 23 for descriptive, bivariate (i.e. Chi-square tests) and multivariable analyses (i.e. logistics regression) used for determining independent associations.
RESULTS: A total of 495 teenage girls participated in the study, however, final analyses were undertaken for 480 respondents. At bivariable analysis, all variables except alcohol consumption were significantly associated with teenage pregnancy. Among the behavioural factors assessed, multivariable analyses showed that having multiple sexual partners, frequent sex and irregular contraceptive use increased the likelihood of teenage pregnancy. Among familial factors, being married was found to increase the likelihood of teenage pregnancy. Peer pressure, sexual abuse and lack of control over sex was observed to increase the likelihood of teenage pregnancy.
CONCLUSIONS: Demographic, behavioural, familial and social factors are important predictors of teenage pregnancy in Lira District. Interventions focussing on: retaining pregnant and married girls at school, information on sexual and reproductive health of teenage girls, improving access to and information about contraceptive use among teenage girls, improving socio-economic status of households, and law enforcement on sexual abuse among girls may come a long way to improving adolescent sexual and health services in the low-income settings.